Typically, when modern technology is discussed concerning those over 65 years old, the general narrative is that many senior Americans are suffering from a significant disadvantage or gap, if you will, in their inability to access the internet.

Retired before the frequent use of email, web research, or enterprise-related software had entered the lives of the professional classes, these elders, the story goes, have been marginalized due to their lack of computer skills in a world that continues to find new uses for the world wide web.

In some ways, that impression is correct. Over one-third of Americans over 65 years old do not use the internet at all in their daily lives while 90% of all Americans find themselves online almost every day. But when you look more in-depth in the numbers, as the University of Maryland’s Leslie Walker has done over the last few years, those statistics can be misleading.

Walker, who recently spoke at the 3rd annual Senior Summit at the Talbot County Community Center, counters that this age gap is dramatically narrowing. Indeed, the rate of adoption to the internet is increasing every year with seniors.

That is just one of the many subjects that Professor Walker shares after a remarkable career in the development of online news at the Washington Post (she was the first editor of washingtonpost.com) and now teaches at the Merrill School of Journalism at College Park.

The Spy sat down with Leslie for a quick interview after her formal presentation to talk about the revolutionary use of technology for those in their senior years, ranging from telemedicine to voice recognition, which has the potential to radically improve the quality of life for millions as they grow older.

Talbot Community Connections (TCC) and the Talbot County Department of Social Services recently held their third annual Talbot Senior Summit. This day-long program for seniors, children of seniors, caregivers, professionals and concerned citizens provided presentations and discussions on the issues that seniors face today. Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford and Mental Health Advocate Lynn Sanchez provided the remarks to open the day.

Pictured is Mental Health Advocate and keynote speaker Lynn Sanchez

In Sanchez’s keynote remarks, “Wine Isn’t the Only Thing That Improves with Age,” she said, “It’s the age of our spirit that matters as we age.” Sanchez went on to present three things she attributed to finding happiness and contentment with aging. She said we need something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to every day. By incorporating humor, Sanchez encouraged participants to keep wondering and to trust the journey.

Pictured are staff of Avon Dixon Insurance Agency, one of the near 50 vendors at this year’s Talbot Senior Summit.

Participants were able to visit informational tables of almost 50 vendors with services and resources for seniors. A healthy lunch was provided by Sprout.

Platinum sponsors for this year’s Senior Summit were the Star Democrat, Talbot County Department of Social Services, and Talbot County Government. Gold sponsors were the Talbot County Health Department, the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, and the Visiting Nurse Association of Maryland.

Returning from California where my younger brother – by two years – was married this past weekend, I reflected on the remarkable experience and emotions discovered in a “senior wedding.”

Truthfully, I have not been to many senior weddings in the past, yet each one I attended provided a wonderful spirit of love and commitment. While part of all weddings, the commitment of people in their 60s who elect to get married brings with it…well, more maturity.

Professional reputation has been built. The children have been raised and released into the world. Friendships have been built and nourished over decades. Then, added to all of that comes a strong and intentional passion to marry, again.

I shared with my brother and his beautiful wife a comment I’ve never forgotten from the woman my father married a few years after our mother passed. His new wife, who had survived two previous husbands, shared with me that marriage to our father was wonderfully different because they spent all of their time together.

The “senior marriage” is decidedly not about building a family, it’s about embracing two families. It’s not about building a career or two; it’s about enjoying the fruits of hard work over many years. It’s not about a process of finding yourself; it’s about a process of finding a new future with another.

For two days, my brother and his new wife brought together friends and family. We spoke of how we knew the bride or groom (or, in my case, both…but that is another story). We told stories about their past lives and laughed at experiences familiar to all of us. We truly celebrated a union of two fine people who know themselves and know they are happier, better and more fulfilled together.

Honestly, it was a weekend of pure joy and a sense of wishing the bride, the groom, along with their families and friends nothing but the best in the years they have together….where they really will be together.

This is one senior moment I hope can be shared by every couple finding perfect companionship in their later years.

Craig Fuller served four years in the White House as assistant to President Reagan for Cabinet Affairs, followed by four years as chief of staff to Vice President George H.W. Bush. Having been engaged in five presidential campaigns and run public affairs firms and associations in Washington, D.C., he now resides on the Eastern Shore with his wife Karen.

A significant change in the Maryland retirement policy takes place at the end of the year is one that will separate prescription drug coverage from the state’s retiree health plan.

This is a very big deal for the thousands of Medicare-eligible state retirees who must enroll in its Part D medication coverage plan by December 31 to continue their drug coverage.

What makes this even more difficult is that official rates for those plans will not be announced until October just as open enrollment begins. The good news is that Maryland’s Insurance Assistance Programs staff in each Mid-Shore county will be offering workshops and individual consulting for those impacted.

The Spy state down with Talbot County’s program counselor Pam Limberry for a quick check in on this important revision in coverage.

This video is approximately two minutes in length. For more information about Part D planning, please contact Pam at 410-822-2869 ext. 231 or plimberry@uppershoreaging.org for more information.

It’s safe to say that Dr. Terry Detrich has been around the block, so to speak, when it comes to neurology conferences. Starting his practice on the Eastern Shore as the Delmarva’s first neurologist in 1976, Detrich has long made it a habit to attend these annual gatherings to keep up with current developments in his field.

But, at least with most of these professional summits, particularly in the area of dementia, it is more often the case that Detrich has left them feeling mostly underwhelmed with the progress being made to treat and prevent neurocognitive disorders.

That was one of the reasons, Dr. Detrich was not all that excited when he decided to travel to Los Angeles (not his favorite city) for the 2018 American Academy of Neurology in April.

So it was surprising for him to hear some remarkable reports from his peers and start feeling for the first time in many years that scientific research and clinical trial results had reached a modest but clearly evident tipping point in the fight against dementia and other memory loss diseases.

For purposes of analogy, Detrich relies on the arc of progress seen in aviation to measure tangle milestones. From the first controlled flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903 and Lindbergh’s first flight across the Atlantic, to our modern era of commercial airlines and space exploration, aviation advances were unprecedented in the their speed of discovery.

Dr. Detrich makes it clear that while the field has certainly well passed its Kitty Hawk stage, he still was looking for the equivalency of Charles Lindbergh’s arrival in Paris in 1927 in dementia prevention and management.

In Los Angeles last month, the doctor felt for the first time in decades that perhaps we are close to that moment.

With advances in knowledge of gene behavior and the positive results of new trials, Detrich cautiously indicts that real medical treatment for some forms of dementia, and even a vaccine, may be in use in two to five years.

The Spy had a short debriefing on the subject from Dr. Detrich last week at the Samuel & Alexia Bratton Neurocognitive Clinic at Bayleigh-Chase.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about Samuel & Alexia Bratton Neurocognitive Clinic at Bayleigh-Chase please go here

Lynn H. Sanchez of Easton, Mental Health Advocate, will be the keynote speaker for the third annual Senior Summit, “Life Reimagined Challenges and Triumphs,” on Thursday, June 7, 2018, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Talbot Community Center on Route 50 in Easton, MD. This day-long program for seniors, children of seniors, caregivers, professionals and concerned residents will provide presentations and discussions on the issues that seniors face today, including health and wellness, technology, staying active, and transitioning in life. The event, sponsored by Talbot Community Connections (TCC) and the Talbot County Department of Social Services, helps to fund the unmet needs that are fundamental to the safety, security, health and well-being of Talbot County’s children and adults.

Sanchez will present “Wine Isn’t the Only Thing That Improves with Age” – an insightful and light-hearted discussion about our personal aging journey. She states, “We will take a look at the physical and emotional energy needed to transition, into our next phase of life.”

Sanchez, who has worked tirelessly as a mental health advocate on the Shore, attended Florida State University where she completed a bachelor’s degree in Child Development and a Master’s in Education degree in Mental Retardation. She has served on the faculty of Chesapeake College and served as Site Coordinator of Talbot Touchpoints Project & Eldercare Project for the Mental Health Association in Talbot County. Currently, she is Administrative Assistant at the medical office of Robert B. Sanchez and is a Mental Health First Aid Trainer.

The Senior Summit will include workshops on downsizing, flourishing through transitions, self-defense for seniors, senior fitness, and even a virtual dementia tour. In addition to break-out workshops, there will be the opportunity for participants to have lunch and to visit vendor tables to gather additional information on aging issues and services.

Talbot Community Connections (TCC), a nonprofit arm of the Talbot County Department of Social Services, has the mission to raise and distribute funds to help keep families together, support children in foster care, and support the elderly so they can remain independent, safe, and healthy members of our communities.

The cost of the Senior Summit is $15 for the General Public, including seniors, and $85 for Professional Social Work CEUs. A healthy continental breakfast and lunch are included in the registration fee. Pre-registration is required by June 1. For further information, contact Kelley Werner at kelley.werner@maryland.gov or call 410-770-8810 or visit talbotcommunityconnections.org to download a registration form or to purchase tickets online. Registration forms are also available at the front desk at Talbot County Department of Social Services at 301 Bay Street, Unit 5 in Easton.

Platinum sponsors for the 2018 Senior Summit are the Talbot County Department of Social Services, the Talbot County Government, and The Star Democrat. Gold sponors are the Talbot County Health Department, Visiting Nurse Association of Maryland, and University of Maryland Shore Regional Health.

Very few things are more worrisome for those over the age of sixty-five than the possibility of experiencing some form of dementia in their senior years. And there is a good reason for that concern since it is turning out that one out of every three Americans will indeed have this condition in their lifetime.

Adding to this grim fact is the growing awareness that dementia, like cancer, is turning out to have many different sub-categories. In fact, the current number used by experts in the field believe there are at least 120 identifiable sub-types, and that number seems to be growing every year.

But along with those sobering facts is also the growing awareness the lifestyle choices can have a dramatic impact on the severity of these many different types of memory loss. In fact, with modest improvements like regular exercise, a balanced diet, and social interaction, the odds improve significantly in mitigating the worst effects of the illness.

In the second of a three-part series, the Spy continues our conversation with Dr. Tabassum Majid, executive director of the Integrace Institute and expert on dementia, about the growing body of evidence that lifestyle changes can significantly improve the quality of life of those with the illness.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the Integrace Institute or the Integrace Bayleigh Chase please go here.

With just over a dozen Washington College alumni living at Heron Point in Chestertown, it’s hard to say that there is a WC dominance at that retirement community which has over 300 residents. But that doesn’t mean the graduates of the local liberal arts college don’t hold a distinct advantage over their Heron Point neighbors.

Knowing the school so well over fifty plus years since they graduated, the WC alumni at Heron Point have the unique experience of watching this 238-year-old institution grow and prosper from the early days of their undergraduate life to now enrolling in classes at WC’s Academy of Lifelong Learning.

They also are part of a national trend where alumni are returning to their former college towns to not only continue their educational interests but to take full advantage of music and theatrical productions, nationally known speakers, and the fun of watching their alma mater compete sports and develop pan-generational friendships with younger students.

While retirement community developers and colleges have been marketing to these traditional retirees, particularly in the 80-plus range, with significant levels of success, there now is a movement afoot to reach out to the “just retired” 62-plus group as well. Stressing independent living and the benefits of reconnecting with old college friends, hassle-free maintenance and these kinds of projects for several years, universities and colleges themselves are playing an increasing role, seeking new sources of revenue and a way to cement ties with alumni.

The Spy sat down with several of the WC alumni at Heron Point, including Mackey Dutton, Dick Fitzgerald, Bill Russell, Jack Stenger, Helen and Bob Tyson and Sigrid Whaley, to talk about their homecoming experience and reminisce about a school they clearly love.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about Heron Point in Chestertown please go here

The data speaks for itself. One in three Americans who are 85 years or older are facing some form of significant memory loss or dementia. This factoid is a sobering forecast for many seniors, but it also is a important reminder that it is better to be prepared for this inevitability rather than ignore it.

That is what Dr. Tabassum Majid is trying to make clear with her work as the Executive Director of Integrace Institute at the Integrace Bayleigh Chase campus in Easton. After leaving the world of academia with a degree in biology and molecular medicine, which emphasized the translation of diagnostic indicators to the bedsides of older patients and their families, Dr. Majid is now using those skills to test and implement innovative, person-centered studies to enhance meaningful living for older individuals and families who face hard choices after the diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimers.

As part of her mission, Tabassum is starting free educational series for family caregivers in Maryland, including Easton, to present present evidence-based, practical information to help those caregivers understand the latest findings in dementia research, and the newest advancements in care to better navigate their loved one’s journey.

The Spy had the opportunity to talk about much of this a few weeks ago at Bayleigh Chase after her latest workshop to talk about the unique needs of families and professionals alike who are eager to maintain a high quality of life for loved ones and patients.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about the Integrace Institute or the Integrace Bayleigh Chase please go here.